baldric

or bal·drick

[bawl-drik]

noun

a belt, sometimes richly ornamented, worn diagonally from shoulder to hip, supporting a sword, horn, etc.

Origin of baldric

1250–1300; Middle English bauderik, bawdryk, baudry < Anglo-French baudré, baldré, Old French baldrei, baudré, perhaps < Frankish *baltirad sword belt, equivalent to Latin balte(us) belt + Germanic *-rad provision, equipment (compare Old High German rat); source of final -ik uncertain

Related formsbal·dricked, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for baldric

Historical Examples of baldric

He set the example by putting one on like a baldric, Mark doing the same with the other.
The Black Tor
George Manville Fenn
Their cartridge-pouch and their bayonet are slung to their right side by a baldric.
The Human Race
Louis Figuier
We heard him getting into his boots again and buckling on his baldric.
Helmet of Navarre
Bertha Runkle
The Chevalier squared his shoulders and shifted his baldric.
The Grey Cloak
Harold MacGrath
It hung from its own baldric with an axe and a round shield.
A Sea Queen's Sailing
Charles Whistler

British Dictionary definitions for baldric

baldric

noun

a wide silk sash or leather belt worn over the right shoulder to the left hip for carrying a sword, etc

Word Origin for baldric

C13: from Old French baudrei, of Frankish origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for baldric

c.1300, "belt worn over the shoulder," from Old French baldre (Modern French baudrier "shoulder-belt"), which probably is from Latin balteus "belt," said by Varro to be of Etruscan origin. The English word perhaps influenced by Middle High German balderich (which itself is from the Old French).